June 26, 2010
Change? The Pending "Oilcane" Disaster
Doug Ross stares into the eye of the pending environmental disaster of an oil-fueled Gulf coast hurricane, and places the blame squarely at the feet of the incompetent spill response of the Obama Administration.
The recovery period after a hurricane can take years. It was 10 years until some communities fully recovered from Hurricane Andrew in South Florida, some never recovered at all. The New Orleans area is still putting itself back together after Katrina in 2005. The recovery period after an oil-soaked hurricane -- or what could be called an Oilicane – is impossible to forecast but it could take years and many billions of dollars. One wonders if BP has the money to survive such a unique disaster. The human and natural losses from such an event could be historic.There's that word again: historic. Everything about this administration is historic -- and none of it in a good way.Should, heaven forbid, the world's first Oilcane wreak havoc in the Southeast, one man will have to shoulder substantial blame. One man's legacy will be utter economic and environmental ruin. One man's unsuitability for the highest office in the land will be crystal clear even to the most obtuse observer.
I've been through a number of minor-to-moderate hurricanes, have seen trees crashing down around me on cars and buildings. When I return to my hometown of Greenville, NC to visit family, I can still see the scars from Hurricane Floyd's floodwaters.
I can't even begin to fathom the environmental disaster of a hurricane compounded by the sludge of oil. It may simply kill entire sections of the coast, rendering large areas toxic wastelands unacceptable for habitation.
Obama's Democrats own the Deepwater Horizon disaster, lock, stock and oil barrel.
That will be a comfort to no one.
I don't think it would be that bad. They interviewed one of the people in on the Mexican spill years ago and he said that they were hit by a hurricane and subsequently the oil slick was gone and they could not find evidence of it on land.
I realize that this leak is unprecedented but similar things have occured in the Gulf and there was little ultimate consequence. One good example is WWII. German submarine activity was very aggressive in the area as Aruba and New Orleans were huge in respect to oil and gas transportation. Aruba was the largest refinery in the world at that time. As a consequence, numerous ships went down and oil spilled (not all burned). There was little consequence.
My only concern over a hurricane will be the delay.
Posted by: David at June 26, 2010 12:15 PM"Historic" is debatable. But unprecedented is certainly not applicable. We seem to forget Ixtoc in 1979. In that case a hurricane actually helped deal with the mess (http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/06/13/530250/after-big-1979-spill-a-stunning.html).
Posted by: craig at June 26, 2010 01:48 PMWe've seen oil spills and tropical cyclones mix it up before.
There were actually three storms that moved through the Gulf in 1979 while the Ixtoc well was still spewing crude. It really wasn't a big deal.
That said, the Obama regime still bears the brunt of blame for its appalling performance "Since Day One."
Posted by: Dave at June 26, 2010 03:11 PMAgree with you Dave, it seems that Obama has gone out of his way to make this diaster into a catastrophe. His delay has shut down fishing. His random stopping of the drilling has assured that we will not recover here in Louisiana for several years, even if the oil disappeared over night.
If the Republicans get the congress back in Nov., the first order of business has to be impeachment.
Posted by: David at June 26, 2010 09:06 PMIncredible. Did Obama sneak out there and blow up that well?
It's a disaster that was inevitable, simply waiting to happen. And it's a tragedy that there was inadequate government oversight to prevent greedy industry -- BP -- from cutting corners on safety and bringing this about.
But what could Obama -- or Bush, or Reagan, if they were in this situation -- do about it? The accident happened; it's 5,000 feet underwater; everyone is doing everything to lessen the damage they can -- which isn't much. Bush couldn't prevent Katrina, but he botched the response. Obama couldn't prevent the BP spill, but he has done and is doing everything that can be done (which, admittedly, isn't much).
We're stuck with what we've got. In the future, corporate pirates must be regulated and restrained. They didn't install an acoustic switch -- mandatory by Norway and Brazil. Canada requires that any company drilling offshore simultaneously drill a second well to act as a relief well in case of blowout -- the well that BP is now drilling. Regulation and strong government control to prevent greedy, short-sighted, profit-driven corporate rapine: that's what we need.
Posted by: Lew Burdett at June 29, 2010 10:17 PM
